Tag Archives: ghosts

I rather bumped into writing about the true experiences people have with ghosts many years ago. It began when word got out that I had witnessed a happening with a little girl ghost. Others, curious, wanting to talk about their own experiences but afraid they would be laughed at, came into my bookshop and quietly began to reveal their stories to me.
This led to my conducting a Ghost Walk as a fund raiser for my business group in Bordentown, New Jersey. When I moved to North Carolina in 2005, I was telling Don Arnold at Oakley Hall Antiques about my ghost. He said, “You need to be writing about Warren County’s ghosts. We have lots of them!” With that said he invited me to his and Ernie Fleming’s home at Oakley Hall (former plantation) in Ridgeway.
This opened the door to forming a great friendship between us. It also began my collecting stories about local hauntings that are as varied as there are people. It seemed that wherever I went, still as a newcomer at the time, someone had a story for me or a name of someone I needed to speak with. A lady sat next to me at a Christmas party. I knew no one other than the hosts. The conversation came around to ghosts. She just happened to have a story.
A woman called to me while I was sitting on a picnic table on the Lake Gaston Estates beach. It was 8 a.m. on a weekday morning. Her dog was lost and she was hoping I had seen it. I hadn’t, but an hour or two later, I had a phone call telling me where the dog was. It wasn’t long before I learned that she had an experience to relate to me. We also shared some of our life stories and became friends.
I served on jury duty in Warrenton. When the jury was sent to the little room while the attorneys discussed a point in the case, a juror asked if I really wrote ghost stories as it had been revealed during the jury selection. “Yes” I replied. Three people there had stories to tell me. Two of them are in the Ghostly Spirits in Warren County & Beyond book. Who would think I’d meet someone with a haunting sequestered in a jury room? Ya gotta luv it!
Now I’m collecting stories for my second NC/VA book. If you have one or happen to know someone . . . .please send a message to me.

A Monthly Newsletter to keep readers informed on news in the book world, about moments not easily explained, stretching out to other genres, a personal story, events going on, comments from readers and more. Readers are welcome to comment or add their thoughts to the next newsletter.
In This Issue December 2012
Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me at asbice@aol.com if you would like to receive the monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers.

Happenings & News Mucho thanks to Oakley Hall Antiques for hosting a wonderful “Meet the Author & Book Signing” last month. It was fabulous and I met some new people as well as greeting friends I know. There will definitely be a Volume II Warren County Ghost Book. Thanks for your words and your support to all who attended. It wasn’t so long ago when I was hosting book signings for others, now I’m the one signing. How cool is that! The stuffed dates I brought to the signing was a recipe that was brought to a book signing I hosted at my shop many years ago for Rose J. Radel who wrote: The Miniature Pinscher: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.
What’s Goin’ On? December 4, Tuesday… . TASTE N TELL at the WCM Library sponsored by Warrenton Woman’s Club. Christmas recipes from the Recipes & Remembrances Cookbook will be offered to taste, cooks will tell their stories and the cookbook will be available for sale at $15. Recipes in the cookbook were submitted by Warren County folks and their friends and family from all across the nation. Also included are some favorites of past Presidential wives such as Martha Custis Washington. Think great Christmas and Holiday gifts.
To all my Christian friends=Merry Christmas and to all my friends who have chosen a different path=Happy Holidays, no matter which one you choose to celebrate or how you like to offer the greeting. It is the goodwill that matters.

Stories…The Mount; The Haunted Home of Edith Wharton.
Edith Wharton, author of The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome and so much more, designed her home in the Berkshires over a hundred years ago. It was not exactly a happy marriage that she shared with husband Teddy and she eventually divorced him. The Mount is now a National Trust and open to visitors. It is the docents and visitors who tell of …..footsteps walking down a hallway and fading-when no one could be seen; doors slamming for no obvious reason, voices heard but no one seen. Ghost Hunters have visited and found ghostly activities. The house was sold to become a girls school. Those staying in the servant quarters and main house both reported odd goings on. Shakespeare & Co. came into the building in 1976 with the same reports of voices with no bodies, ghosts in old-fashioned clothing peeking around corners, voices inquiring “what are you doing here?”

Edith herself was sensitive to ghosts following her in childhood remaining skittish of them as a married woman. Yet now she is a ghost seen, seated and reading. Teddy has also been spotted striding through the house and Edith’s lover has been noticed in a tuxedo with pocket watch in hand. A servant girl is seen on the third floor in the room she called her own. Photo from Wikipedia website.

Letters, I Get Letters…. As much as I love North Carolina and the (still) newness of exploring and learning new customs, there is an unhappy part, too. In moving to a new place to live, I have lost the casual contact with some people who have been important in my life. This means I just learned now, a year after the fact that Julianne MacNicoll passed away. She and long-time-husband Ed (Past President of the NAIFA) worked side-by-side in their office in Hamilton Township (NJ) doing residential and commercial real estate appraisals. And they were side-by-side in all aspects of their lives. Ed also taught and did a million other things. I remember Julie as being the sunniest person, always happy, positive and encouraging, especially to a newcomer to the business that I loved so much, me. I can still see her smiling face.

This Month……Since I now have Ghostly Spirits of Warren County, North Carolina & Beyond on the shelves, I’m back to completing New Jersey true ghost tales that I have been collecting for the last few years in between the NC ones. If you know of anyone who would like to tell me their story, please put them in touch with me at: asbice@aol.com or 252-257-4838.

The Latest……. Ghostly Spirits of Warren County NC & Beyond (Soft Cover-2012 PurpleStone Press) $18.95 A candle in the window, a man who walks through walls, a woman from long ago…..peek into the personal stories of hauntings from those who wish to remain in their place on earth instead of going forward into the after-life. Warren County was a wealthy, thriving place during the antebellum years. Warrenton was the hub of activity, a destination on market days where friends gathered. These imprints were left and remain today.

Also Available…. Ghosts Of Bordentown (NJ) $14.95 True paranormal stories told by those who lived them Haunted Bordentown … (NJ) $14.95 More true paranormal tales
Life & Labyrinth …$17.95 Memoir & Poetry Major Fraser’s A House & Its History $19.95 Images of America Series -Bordentown, A picture book of Bordentown history – New Egypt & Plumsted Township, A picture book of the center of New Jersey -Bordentown Revisited, More pictures and history of Bordentown and surrounding area.

Subscribe: Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers

A Monthly Newsletter to keep readers informed on news in the book world, about moments not easily explained, stretching out to other genres, a personal story, events going on, comments from readers and more. Readers are welcome to comment or add their thoughts to the next newsletter.

In This Issue November 2012

Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me at asbice@aol.com if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers.

Happenings & News I attended E. Jane Ball-Groom’s Book Signing for her “The Salad Pickers Journey South” memoir on Saturday, Nov 3 to my delight. It is her story of a New York girl (her) and her husband and children emigrating south to Manson, North Carolina to help build Attorney McKissick’s dream of creating Soul City in the late 1960s. These were turbulent times in our country and a brave journey for this family to make at that time. I met Jane at a writing workshop two or three years ago and thoroughly enjoyed reading her story in print.

What’s Goin’ On?November 10, Saturday… .Meet the Author & Book Signing at Oakley Hall Antiques, 119 N. Main St. Warrenton from 1 pm to 3 pm. Refreshments served. Hope to see you there…………………..ALSO a Taste ‘n Tell on Tues. the 4th Dec. at the WCM Library sponsored by Warrenton Woman’s Club. Christmas recipes from the Recipes & Remembrances Cookbook will be offered to taste, cooks will tell their stories and the cookbook will be available for sale at $15. Think great Holiday gifts.

Letters,I Get Letters….As an inquisitive person and avid writer, I get invitations from other writers and publishers. One note received was an invitation from Jyoti Wind to submit a piece on “why I write” and has resulted in the newly released book: The Creative Arc: An Anthology on Writing now available for $15.99. It can be ordered at: jyotiwind@gmail.com. The book will prove to be very interesting I’m sure, learning all the many different reasons on why one person absolutely must write while others could care less about it.

This Month……Since I now have Ghostly Spirits of Warren County,North Carolina & Beyond on the shelves, I’m back to completing New Jersey hauntings and true ghost tales I have been collecting for the last few years in between the NC ones. If you know of anyone who would like to tell me their story, please put them in touch with me at: asbice@aol.com or 252-257-4838.

Stories……Here is one that did not get into the newest book.

The Biltmore House, America’s Castle

I confess, on the few times I’ve visited the Biltmore Estate I have not seen or felt any ghosts hanging around. But the scoop is that George Washington Vanderbilt who built it because he loved the area so much as a child visiting, has been heard speaking after he died in 1914 from complications with an appendectomy. Edith, his wife of sixteen years and now a young widow was known to sit in front of one of the fireplaces on the lower level and talk to him. And the servants heard him talk back!

There is also rumor of an orange cat running around without his head. Supposedly a cook chopped off his head in a fit of rage at the cat coming into the kitchen too often. And he was a favorite of his master George. That one is a little hard to believe.

But sounds of guests enjoying themselves swimming in the basement pool continue. The fact that the pool has been empty of water for many years doesn’t seem to deter them at all!

The Latest…….

Ghostly Spirits of Warren County NC & Beyond (Soft Cover-2012 PurpleStone Press) $18.95 A candle in the window, a man who walks through walls, a woman from long ago…..peek into the personal stories of hauntings from those who wish to remain in their place on earth instead of going forward into the after-life. Warren County was a wealthy, thriving place during the antebellum years. Warrenton was the hub of activity, a destination on market days where friends gathered. These imprints were left and remain today.

Stories brought to Lake Gaston come to life as events are unveiled by those who have the gift of seeing what others cannot see. Added is the historical background that will endear you to place and time, to personal experiences for your compassion and understanding. As time progresses and changes are made, some spirits remain as they were forever.

Bordentown, Images of America…..Arcadia Publ. (Soft Cover Nov 11, 2002) A picture book of Bordentown history.

New Egypt & Plumsted Township, Images of America…..Arcadia Publ. (Soft Cover 2003) A picture book of the very center of New Jersey.

Bordentown Revisited, Images of America… Arcadia Publ. (Soft Cover 2005) More pictures and history of Bordentown and surrounding area.

Subscribe: Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers

It was the standing stones that drew me to Avebury, England, the tiniest of villages. This is the center of a circle of standing stones ala Stonehenge, whose residents live daily with the magic of prehistoric mystery. But visitors are not blocked off by a fence as at Stonehenge. During my last visit there I stayed overnight at the Red Lion Inn which is haunted by Florrie and a few other ghosts.

Excitement rumbled through me as I checked into the Inn, securing my room reservation. I could barely wait to go across the road, to feel the stones with my hands. I ignored the sheep droppings as much as possible in this meadow they called home.

The stones are massive. I backed up against one, snuggled in tightly so the magic of this rough stone would enter my body, closing my eyes to feel the full sensation.

There are times when a person passes away but their spirit remains with the house. Possibly this is because he loved the house so much that he cannot bear to leave it. He remains out of sight as long as the family he loved remains there. Time passes and the family with it, either from dying off or moving away. The house is sold or rented to strangers and ghostly activity begins. After all, the spirit lived in the house when alive and for many years after it was no longer ‘alive’. He may consider the house still his and wonder who these new people are living in his house.

Some ghosts like the newcomers and remain quiet. Others seem to be unhappy with the new people and are just letting them know that the house is really theirs. As long as you respect that fact, you will get along fine. This situation happened in “People and Their Ghosts” Ann Herbert’s story in the “Ghostly Spirits of Warren County, NC & Beyond” the title itself tells where these things are happening or at least have happened. The book will be available shortly.

It really is quite common for a newly passed away person to stop for a final visit with a loved one, or even just a casual acquaintance. Whether it is a parting kiss or a message saying that all is okay or a peek at someone they wanted to see in real life and had not, is a query. But common it is and I do not consider this a haunting or a sign that a ghost is coming to stay in your house.

Also it sometimes happens that a person passes away and does not realize it. As in Ghosts of Bordentown Gay states “Mom, it’s the strangest thing. I wake up and hear sounds of someone brushing their teeth.” The former, elderly owner of the house took to the habit of brushing her teeth in bed after she broke her hip. Apparently she didn’t realize at first, that she passed away. This faded after a time.

The same situation occurs in “Spirit Doesn’t Know She Is Dead” Heidi’s Story coming up in Ghostly Spirits in Warren County, NC & Beyond. Apparently some take a little longer to realize they aren’t on the earth plane anymore.

It’s true. I have been carrying a new life inside me, but this one took not nine months, but a few years and is called a book. The final proof is read and completed. The birth date of Ghostly Spirits in Warren County, North Carolina & Beyond should be in about a month. Whew! I remember going through labor with the boys, but time dulls the pain. I’ll be as happy to see the finished product now as I was then.

Brigette Norcross – Editor says: The book is so rich with details, you feel like you are witnessing the ghostly appearances yourself; it is a little unnerving. I could not put the book down.

And Nancy LaPonzina, author Nardi Point says: “Bice takes us on a contemporary journey of things that go bump in the night with her collection of present day narratives not from Hollywood, but from our own backyard. Every region and town has its story—these tales are from Warrenton, North Carolina (or Warren County). Not for late-night reading, proceed at your own risk! “

So now I wait, breathing deeply to stay calm through this last process…….or was that Lamaze?